"This year we will go further than ever to support SMEs, catalyse the delivery of low carbon housing and take a leadership role in boosting the provision of much needed supported living accommodation"
Assetz Capital, its regulated subsidiary business, intends to reach a £1 billion lending run-rate this year and £1.5 billion run-rate in 2023, targeted at supporting the revival of the SME housebuilder sector from current lows of just 2,500 companies, compared to the sector’s peak in the 1980s where numbers stood at 12,000.
Additionally, as part of this funding growth, Assetz Capital intends to continue to substantially grow its lending support for the development and long-term finance of all forms of care and supported living accommodation, and also greatly increase its funding of commercial mortgages for trading businesses across the UK.
To date, the Assetz group has helped fund approximately £2.5 billion worth of new housing since 1999 – equating to around new 16,000 homes – and has helped 1,110 SMEs across the country gain access to alternative finance to fund projects and support business growth.
In addition to its lending target, Assetz is also aiming to increase its ability to promote decarbonisation of the built environment by committing to ensuring at least 95% of all new homes it funds are EPC B-rated or above by the end of the year.
Stuart Law, CEO of the Assetz group, said: "Since launching the Assetz group of companies over 20 years ago, our purpose has been consistent – to provide investors who understand investment risk with an innovative platform which offers healthy returns backed by property security, while putting their capital to work to tackle big social challenges and support undersupplied areas of the market.
“Through our development finance, commercial mortgages and bridging finance, we have pioneered fractional investment and social impact investing in real estate to meet the needs of modern investors who increasingly want to diversify risk, drive potential returns, avoid the headache of direct asset management and make a positive impact on the world around them. At the same time, we have harnessed this appetite to make a meaningful contribution to some of the monumental challenges we are facing in the UK, from decarbonising the built environment and helping people save for the future in a world of low interest rates, to supporting SME developers facing difficult market conditions and increasing the supply of much needed assisted living accommodation.
“This year we will go further than ever to support SMEs, catalyse the delivery of low carbon housing and take a leadership role in boosting the provision of much needed supported living accommodation to help address the growing crisis in the care sector. We have always believed that financial success and making a positive social impact are closely linked, a view we share with an increasing majority of investors who understand that using their capital for the benefit of wider society, as an extra return beyond headline interest rates, is the best way to generate sustainable returns long term.
“In this context we are laser-focused on growing the Group this year to provide even more attractive opportunities for investors, support the growth of UK trading businesses and job creation, and provide increasing numbers of energy efficient homes to those that need them most.”
